NAR Economist coming to town

The Triangle Commercial Association of Realtors has line up George Ratiu for the July showcase. He will be speaking about the current state of the commercial real estate market and give us his economic outlook for the industry. The event will be July 23rd in Cary. For more information click here.

Raleigh Keeps on Growing

According to the Triangle Business Journal the population in the Raleigh area will more than double between now and 2025. This projected growth pace surpasses estimated growth of any other metro area during that same time. Read all the details here.

Roots of the Financial Meltdown Exposed

These four charts are very telling. Perhaps the most shocking is the last chart showing the government's response to bring us out of this mess. Anyone think the fundamentals of capitalism are crumbling?

At the Bottom?

Financial advisor Jeff Link has provided a chart of the DJIA ending April of 2009 and one ending in 1932. I encourage you to have a look and a read, they show a very similar pattern. Maybe we have started to turn the corner?

No Bull

A local investor just introduced me to John T. Reed and I can't believe I have not heard of this guy before. Mr. Reed has been a real estate investor, property manager and broker. He has succeeded by focusing on the basics, NOT HYPE and offers to share his experiences with others through his web site, newsletter and books. I encourage everyone to check out what he has to say, especially his tips on Detecting a Real Estate B.S. Artist.

The fact I learned about him via referral and not a late-night infomercial validates everything he says.

Payment Protection not only for new cars, now rent!

One of the biggest and best residential management companies in the U.S., Riverstone Residential, is now offering tenants the opportunity to enroll in an "insurance" plan that will pay their rent for 2 months if they lose their job. Residents can enroll in the Pink Slip Protection program for less than $10/month.

With clear parallels to the automotive manufactures, the plan should attractive new residents and help retain existing ones by offering them some peace of mind in a very difficult job market.

Early April Fools from the Fed

Many folks, myself included, thought the Fed's announcement to buy Mortgage Bonds and Treasuries would cause interest rates to drop. Well that didn't happen. Want to know why? Mortgage expert Rich Paravella with Equity Services (rparavella@equitysrvs.com) offers some insight:

"There was a large announcement yesterday that the Fed was stepping in to purchase Agency bonds. This was to bring interest rates down to the lowest rates ever - Oops - Didn't happen. Below is article explaining why. If you read no further, remember this: Don't always believe what you hear. Email me for a real world explanation or status of the mortgage environment.

"Big news hitting the wires yesterday afternoon, as the Fed made a blockbuster announcement that sent Mortgage Bonds into rally mode. The Federal Reserve announced that over the course of 2009, they will purchase an additional $750B of Mortgage Backed Securities in an effort to help shore up the housing market and keep home loan rates low. On the announcement, Mortgage Bonds exploded higher, leaving prices within whiskers of the best levels ever.

However, as we stated in yesterday's Alert to Float: Their actions may keep a lid on rates, but not necessarily push them dramatically lower. And due to the issue we've also discussed of lenders still working at max capacity, they are very likely not going to pass all the gains through to our rate sheets, as we are already hearing this morning. The good news is that perhaps this will help lenders feel more comfortable staffing up a bit, as this purchase program will certainly keep rates from moving significantly higher any time soon - and this will also give time for the new 105% refinance plan to work as well. Bottom line - although the media is already spinning it differently, this is still not a time for clients to stay on the fence, hoping and waiting for lower rates. Home loan rates remain within inches of all-time historic lows, but may not necessarily move significantly lower based on this purchasing plan - waiting is a very risky move.""